U.N. envoy rebuffs bias in Afghan election

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A top U.N. envoy decried accusations of favoritism in the Afghan presidential election, saying he was committed to ensuring a credible outcome is determined.

"My silence is now being exploited, to a point where these allegations are impeding the ongoing election process," Kai Eide, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special representative, said in a statement. "I have been motivated by my determination to make every effort to bring the election process to a conclusion."

An audit of suspicious ballot boxes is being carried out by the Electoral Complaints Commission and Independent Election Commission in the presence of monitors and candidates' representatives, the United Nations said Thursday in a release.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared victory over his closest challenger, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, pending the outcome of the audit of the August election.

"We need to allow both these bodies, which were created under the laws of this country, to conclude their investigations, identify fraud, and deliver a credible result in the next few days," said Eide, also the head on the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan

The mission said Wednesday that slightly more than 100 of the 358 suspicious ballot boxes remain to be examined.

"(The) accusations that the United Nations has covered up or that I asked for fraud to be covered up are patently false," Eide said, adding he would address the allegations "at the appropriate time."